From The Vault: Lobanovskyi’s last Dynamo
“Guys, we have gathered here. Many will fit into Dynamo (Kyiv), but many will not. Still, I’ll give a chance to everyone. If you want to achieve something, not just make money. If you want people to talk about you, would you please do that.” Those were the words of Valeriy Lobanovskyi upon his return to Dynamo Kyiv in 1997. It was his second return.
In the documentary “Lobanovskiy Forever” — which films the life of the great Ukrainian coach — the 1st president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk portrays it perfectly “To tear Lobanovskyi away from Dynamo (Kyiv), meant the same as tearing him away from the ground. He fitted Dynamo Kyiv in a natural way. Dynamo (Kyiv) couldn’t imagine themselves without Lobanovskyi.”
Kravchuk was right, Lobanovskyi returned in 1997 to form his third great Dynamo team after two periods where his Dynamo Kyiv side became the first Soviet team to win a European trophy in 1975. It was the Cup Winners’ Cup — beating Ferencvaros in the final — which he won again with Dynamo Kyiv in his second stint in 1986 beating Atletico Madrid 3–0 in the final. The most memorable of the three goals was courtesy of 1975 Ballon d’Or winner Oleg Blokhin.
Lobanovskyi left in 1990 with the fall of the Soviet Union. The football scene and the country were in free fall. Private people bought boots for footballers to play, barely any spectators were at the grounds and the country as a whole was stripped of money. To quote Kravchuk’s words on how poor the football system was, “There were no underpants”.
Slowly the Ukrainian football scene started returning as normal life in the country returned. Dynamo Kyiv’s hierarchy tried bringing back Lobanovskyi and he did eventually return in January 1997. It was like a lover reuniting with her loved one after years far away from each other.
And this was the beginning of the road to Champions League spotlight. Sweeping Louis Van Gaal’s Barcelona home and away with scorelines of 3–0 and 4–0 respectively, knocking out Dick Adovcaat’s PSV as well but falling to eventual finalist Juventus in the 1998 quarter-finals.
Entering the 1998–99 campaign, they were no more seen as minnows from the east. It was now Lobanovskyi’s third great side starring Andriy Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov. Wins against Arsenal, Lens and Panathinaikos got them out of the group stage. After that it was the holders Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and against the odds Dynamo Kyiv beat them 3–1 on aggregate.
The tie against Real Madrid was finished with a cherry on top, a sweet combination goal between Rebrov and Shevchenko to make it 2–0 in Kyiv.
Next step, the semi-finals. The opponent was Bayern Munich and in Kyiv Dynamo showed no mercy. It was 3–1 in the second half, chances after chances came to Dynamo to make it four, five and even six. They were all to waste. To make things even worse Bayern managed to clinch a draw in the last 12 minutes through Stefan Effenberg and Carsten Jancker.
It was one of those games you can’t explain where a team definitely deserved the win but it just didn’t come. This game is one of two Lobanovskyi himself said that he can’t comprehend and can’t explain. The other was in the 1986 World Cup when Belgium beat his USSR side.
Lobanovskyi told the players to focus on the 2nd leg but mentally they didn’t have the upper hand after failing to end the tie when it was at 3–1. Dynamo still created chances in the 2nd leg, most memorably Valyantsin Byalkevich’s outside of the foot strike and Alyaksandr Khatskevich’s free header both however stopped excellently by Oliver Kahn.
0–0 meant they were out on away goals. It wasn’t that that killed them though. Mario Basler managed to put Bayern ahead with a left footed curler towards the far post.
“In general, we aren’t making any tragedy. We are happy to have made it to the semifinals. Let’s start it all over from the beginning” a sad Lobanovskyi said in the flash interviews after the game.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t another beginning as Shevchenko left followed by Rebrov the year after. To this day Dynamo Kyiv remains the last team from behind the iron curtain to reach the Champions league semi-final.
Lobanovskyi’s 1999 side was going to make the dream a reality, so what made them different ?
The Dynamo Kyiv of that time played mostly in a 1–3–3–1–2 system. Offensively, their style of play was wing oriented using the speed and trickery of Shevchenko, Rebrov and Vitaliy Kosovskyi. The positioning was flexible and the forwards rotated their places while maintaining the balance in terms of shape to not leave any spaces for the opposition.
Defensively, it was a team effort with every individual having a role in the system. The peculiar defensive line often shifted to a back four when Dynamo were out of possession. That in addition to Vladyslav Vashchuk role as a sweeper and safety net for Dynamo when they were in the defensive transition phase.
Attacking Three Lanes
Dynamo’s shape was a front two of Rebrov and Shevchenko but as an offensive principle they always attacked three lanes. Right, left and center. It didn’t matter what the shape was or who it was, there were always three players attacking the three lanes.
This was split into two methods, the first is a player attacking one of the wide lanes as one of Rebrov or Shevchenko was central. That player was mostly Byalkevich who not only operated behind the striker duo but also attacked the wide areas regularly.
In the aforementioned chance for Byalkevich against Bayern Munich in the 2nd leg, Rebrov and Shevchenko were on the left side shifting the Bayern defence to that area, thus creating a gap. Byalkevich utilized that gap by making a run into it to collect Vashchuk’s pass.
A goal here would have put Dynamo ahead in the tie and made it 4–3 on aggregate, but the only thing that stopped that was Kahn’s impressive save.
Byalkevich also missed a sitter in the first leg when the score was at 2–1 after heading over Oleh Luzhny’s cross. Here, the principle of attacking three lanes is clear despite the absence of Rebrov and Shevchenko who were deeper in this attack. It was Luzhny on the right, Kosovskyi central and Byalkevich on the left.
It wasn’t all misses for Byalkevich though and to give him the credit those outside runs were crucial to Dynamo Kyiv as was seen in the 2nd goal against Lens in the group stage. The match-day six game which was a crucial game for them to top the group. Byalkevich attacked the right lane while Vashchuk, sprinting from the back, attacked the left lane. Both players flanking Shevchenko.
Byalkevich was also instrumental in the equalizer against Panathinaikos, moving from behind the striker duo to attack the left lane then crossing it for Rebrov to finish.
The second method was Rebrov and Shevchenko splitting, therefore allowing a runner in between. The game that epitomized this was the 3–3 against Bayern Munich.
The most famous of the missed chances for Dynamo on that day was Kosovskyi’s which he chipped over the bar. It all started with Rebrov and Shevchenko wide creating space in the center — Shevchenko here at the bottom of the picture — for Kosovskyi.
Khatskevich then found Kosovskyi in the center because of Rebrov and Shevchenko’s role in stretching the Bayern defence. Kosovskyi was straight on goal and a slightly lower ball could have changed everything.
Khatskevich also had a chance in the same game. Again attacking the central space as Rebrov and Shevchenko stretched Bayern. He missed the ball however, then Rebrov’s shot hit the ground making it an easy save for Kahn.
After a game Lobanovskyi was once asked if it’s a normal phenomenon that his defenders score and the forwards don’t carry out their functions. “Yes, it is. This is what is called modern football” he coolly replied with both his hands in his pockets.
Kosovskyi’s left side
In a diamond midfield your wing area isless occupied, whether offensively or defensively. That is in a world where Vitaliy Kosovskyi didn’t exist. The midfielder/left winger occupied the complete left hand side on his own. Wider and narrower, which gave Dynamo the luxury of having a virtual winger in a diamond midfield. That of course doesn’t negate his narrow presence in midfield as he did both roles at the same time.
On the defensive front he defended wide and narrow depending on the situation. A small example is here at home to Real Madrid where he tucks inside to retrieve the ball.
Another one is at the Santiago Bernabeu, preventing Clarence Seedorf from going inside to collect the ball.
When the game was stretched he was alert to the wide area. Defending the left side to enable Kakha Kaladze to tuck inside and make it a 3 v 2 for Dynamo centrally.
Kosovskyi retrieved the ball from Seedorf and allowed Dynamo Kyiv to start their attack.
In this particular game against Real Madrid, Kosovskyi’s defending allowed Kaladze to defend more centrally as Real Madrid were trying to attack Dynamo Kyiv centrally and out wide at the same time. Kosovskyi’s role in defending the left side against Seedorf was massive.
It’s clear here how Dynamo made sure they are containing the central area and wide area. Kosovskyi at the top of the picture is defending the left wing against Seedorf, as Rebrov is tracking back to defend the right wing.
Moving on from the defensive side, Kosovskyi was the catalyst for Dynamo’s left side threat. He would regularly make runs towards the far post or create from the left wing for Rebrov and Shevchenko, maintaining the presence of the three lanes principle.
Normally it would start with a stretched diamond shape.
Then as the attack is built up on the left side, Kosovskyi would act as a left winger.
Either creating the chance or presenting himself as an option on the left wing for a far post finish.
One of the chances he created in this Champions League run was Dynamo Kyiv’s penalty against Arsenal which Rebrov scored to open the scoreline at the Olimpiyskiy.
The most recognizable goal however and probably Kosovskyi’s dream goal was the third against Bayern in the 3–3 draw. This goal meant it was 3–1 to Dynamo and at that time it was all Dynamo Kyiv in the tie. Kosovskyi started his run on the left wing, but seeing Byalkevich in the left lane and Rebrov in the right he chose to go center. A poor clearance from Samuel Kuffour helped but the volley was unstoppable.
Rebrov and Shevchenko’s defensive duties
Wingers tracking back to support their full backs is a common scene in modern football. Even forwards tracking back to support the wide area is sporadically noticed in a handful of games such as Ronaldo and Ivan Zamorano’s efforts in the 2nd half of the 1998 Uefa Cup final against Lazio. Or Fernando Morientes and Nicolas Anelka’s against Valencia’s wing oriented approach in the 2000 Champions League final.
Rebrov and Shevchenko however weren’t doing it as a one-off. It was each and every game. This begs the question how could their stamina handle all of this back and forth ? As Jonathan Wilson explains in his book Inverting The Pyramid “Whatever the reason, Lobanovskyi returned to Kyiv late in 1973 to become Dynamo’s first Kyvian manager since Viktor Shylovskyi had been replaced by Vyacheslav Solovyov in 1968. By that stage, he saw a football team as a dynamic system, in which the aim was to produce the optimal level of energy in the optimal pattern. He had come to the conclusion that, to win titles, what happened off the field in terms of physical preparation and, particularly, rehabilitation, was just as important as what happened on it.”
Lobanovskyi managed to reach this with the aid of professor Anatoly Zelentsov, a dean of the local Institute of Physical Science. Players were put in severe physical exercises to both train them physically and mentally. This all explains the way the Dynamo Kyiv players moved up and down the field as a unit.
Shevchenko and Rebrov’s importance in terms of protecting the wing area was as important as their goals. Games against Arsenal would prove that as the London side looked to play their game on the wings.
It wasn’t only positioning, they would actively press and double up against the wingers. In the game at Wembley Luzhny had to face Marc Overmars but the presence of Rebrov and Shevchenko wide decreased Overmars’ threat.
The scene was set again against Real Madrid in the quater-final. The striker duo performed their defensive duties faultlessly.
Perhaps the most significant application of the tracking back was against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals at the Santiago Bernabeu. Khatskevich’s role was to defend the right channel and center area as Predrag Mijatovic drifted inside to overload the center. This left Luzhny alone against the ramping Roberto Carlos, but in fact he wasn’t as Rebrov — him and Khatskevich circled in red — defended the right wing with Khatskevich going central to track Mijatovic. In the same attack Guti managed to move Kosovskyi out of position, making the left channel vulnerable. It also wasn’t as Shevchenko — him and Kosovskyi circled in yellow — dropped to defend.
Rebrov and Shevchenko’s goals will be remembered in all the highlights realm but it’s their hard defensive work that kept this Dynamo Kyiv side solid at the back.
Half midfielder-half defender Holovko
The 1–3–3–1–2 shape definitely looks odd, but for it to work Oleksandr Holovko had a key role. He didn’t play as a midfielder nor a defender, it was a bit of both. Covering for Andriy Husin in midfield but also dropping next to Vashchuk to form a back four and covering the forward runs of the captain, Oleh Luzhny.
The most common scene for a central Dynamo Kyiv interception was an ‘in your face’ Holovko interception. A block in basketball terms if you may. Opponents didn’t anticipate it because it was in midfield and far from where a defensive line could be. In this manner Holovko was Husin’s guardian angel.
Whenever the ball was played behind Husin and opponents were trying to play between the lines, Holovko was present to intercept the ball.
Even when Husin was dragged deeper due to an opponent’s run in the box, Holovko stood up and attacked the ball in midfield.
In terms of covering for the full backs, Holovko anticipated when there was a threat and positioned himself nearer to the advancing full back to minimize the danger once the game was in the transition phase.
Luzhny was the more advancing of the full backs and Holovko kept his place secured by shifting there to deny any exploitation of space.
On the other side it was a similar case. Kaladze here was dragged inside by a Lens player but Holovko had an eye for the space the Georgian left behind and he’s ready to defend it.
He does, successfully preventing the attack from being a 1 v 1 against Vashchuk.
Another example against Arsenal is when both Kosovskyi and Yuriy Dymytrulin were totally out of position and Anelka was seeking to exploit that space. Holovko tracked him and prevented the attack from escalating.
The full backs could attack freely as Holovko could cover for the advancing one from the central position in-front of Vashchuk.
The final card up Holovko’s sleeve was his neutralization of forwards who dropped deep to play between the lines. He would close them down and deny any form of a number 10 role behind the striker. At Wembley, Anelka was trying to drop regularly to offer a passing option but Holovko managed both him and Dennis Bergkamp when either of them dropped.
Valeriy Lobanovskyi made Dynamo Kyiv the European giants they once were before with him. They were close to carve their name on the biggest European trophy but it will always be a what if scenario.
Lobanovskyi died in 2002 as one of the greatest football managers in the history of the game. Definitely, the greatest manager of the most accomplished Ukrainian team, Dynamo Kyiv.
“I think my career would have never developed if I had not met Valeriy Vasylyovych (Lobanovskyi). I will always…always be in debt” Shevchenko said in the Lobanovskiy Forever documentary.
In 2004 after he received his Ballon d’Or trophy he brought it to Lobanovskyi’s statue. It was after all Lobanovskyi who made him the player he was at that moment in time.
Despite failing to win the 1999 Champions League, that Dynamo Kyiv side followed Lobanovskyi’s words. People will still talk about them.
